If you mostly want to talk with Egyptian friends, family or a partner, you can learn Egyptian Arabic in Arabizi without learning a new alphabet first. Many Egyptians text in Arabizi, so you learn the words in the same letters your friends type.
Your goals decide where to start.
| What you want | Start with |
|---|---|
| Talk with friends, family or a partner | Arabizi |
| Travel, shows, music and food | Arabizi |
| Read books, news or signs | The Arabic alphabet |
| Read religious texts | The Arabic alphabet |
| Pass a class or an exam | The Arabic alphabet |
| Use Arabic at work | The Arabic alphabet |
You can start in Arabizi and learn the alphabet later.
- Learn What 2, 3, 5 and 7 Stand ForEach number is a sound English has no letter for, like the 7 in 7abibi and the 3 in 3arabi. Say each one out loud with a short word until you hear the difference between h and 7, and between 7 and 5.
- See every number with an example word in What Is Arabizi?
- Hear each sound in Bubblegum's Arabizi Sounds course, which you get when you choose Arabizi in the app.
- Learn the Letters That Sound DifferentIn Egypt, g is always hard and gh is one sound. The letter e sounds like the e in "bed", and o like the o in "go". A double letter is held a little longer. A heavy s and a light s are both written s.
- Use the table of tricky letters in What Is Arabizi?
- Read and Listen to Short DialoguesEach week, read short Egyptian Arabic dialogues in Arabizi and listen to them. Say the lines back out loud. Start with greetings and small talk, because they come up in almost every chat.
- Read Bubblegum lessons, stories and news in Arabizi, with audio.
- Hear the most common Egyptian greetings explained in Easy Egyptian Arabic, Basic Phrases 1.
- Text in ArabiziWrite short messages the way Egyptians type them. Ask about a word you don't know, and use the new words in your next message.
- Text Poppy, your AI tutor, in Arabizi. She reads what you type and answers in Arabizi.
- Type a word in Arabizi, like 3arabi or 5alas, into Bubblegum's dictionary to look it up.
- Talk With PeopleTalk with an Egyptian friend or a tutor. Talking out loud gets you used to how fast people speak.
- Find tutors and conversation apps in Best Ways to Learn Egyptian Arabic.
- Add the Arabic Alphabet When You Want ItLearn the Arabic letters when you want to read more than chats.
- Start with the first letters in Bubblegum's Arabic alphabet course, where each one comes with a picture.
- See how the letters join in the letter forms chart.
When the app asks if you can read Arabic letters, tap "Not yet". Poppy suggests Arabizi or the alphabet based on your goals. Tap "Start With Latin Letters" for Arabizi, or tap Help Me Choose to see the same word written both ways. You can switch in Reader Settings at any time, and your lessons and saved words stay the same.
| Shown in Arabizi | Shown in Arabic letters or Standard Arabic |
|---|---|
| Lessons, stories and news, with their vowels | Some words, which read a little more like Standard Arabic than Cairo speech |
| Chatting with Poppy | Verb and noun tables, which use Standard Arabic forms |
| Dictionary search, with Bubblegum's spelling | Lesson titles, speaker names and grammar pages |
| The Arabizi Sounds course | Poppy's notes on a lesson and the sentence saved with a word |
Bubblegum
For serious learners, Bubblegum is the best app to learn Egyptian Arabic. You learn from Egyptian Arabic you can mostly understand, which is called comprehensible input.
- Egyptian Arabic is its own journey in Bubblegum, with lessons written in Egyptian Arabic.
- Lessons fit your level, interests, and goals.
- Read and listen to news and stories in Egyptian Arabic about things you care about.
- Ask Poppy about a sentence while you read.
- Saved words come back in new lessons through Regenerative Review™, and you can send them to Anki too.
- Clear, expressive AI voices read every lesson aloud, with a different voice for each speaker.
- Egyptian posts and articles you found can't become lessons. Send Poppy a screenshot, and she explains it.
- A new custom lesson costs us real money to make, so your first one is free, and Bubblegum Pro gives you unlimited custom lessons. The lesson library is free for everyone, because we believe everyone should be able to learn.
- Regenerative Review™
- Teaches Egyptian Arabic
- Teaches the Arabic Alphabet
Mobile
Can I learn Egyptian Arabic without the Arabic alphabet?
Yes, if you mostly want to talk and text with people. You will need the alphabet to read signs and books.
Will learning Arabizi first make the alphabet harder later?
No. You learn the same words either way, so when you start the alphabet, you already know how many of them sound.
Is Bubblegum free?
Yes. The lesson library is free for everyone, because we believe everyone should be able to learn. It holds lessons that other learners asked Poppy for. A new custom lesson costs us real money to make, so your first one is free, and Bubblegum Pro gives you unlimited custom lessons.
